Divar

The island of Divar (formerly Piedade) ( , pronounced ) (derived from the word Dipavati or 'small Island' in Konkani) lies in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa. It is one of six major islands within the Mandovi, the others being: * Ilha de Goa, * Chorão, * Vanxim, * Cumbarjua, * St Estevam and * Several other small mangrove islands and sand banks.

The island of Divar (formerly Piedade) ( , pronounced ) (derived from the word Dipavati or 'small Island' in Konkani) lies in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa. It is one of six major islands within the Mandovi, the others being: Ilha de Goa, Chorão, Vanxim, Cumbarjua, St Estevam and Several other small mangrove islands and sand banks. ==Location== It is located approximately upriver from Panjim. The island is dis-connected from Old Goa on the south-east side, Ribandar, on the south-west side and Naroa on the north side, all by ferry. A launch also connects Divar to the city of Panjim from further north-west, in the island-village of Vanxim. The Konkan Railway passes through the village and the nearest stop to the village is the train station at Carambolim. The approach to the village is passes through barren fields and small hills. ==Villages== Initially, there were three Communidades in Divar : Piedade, São Matias (now Malar), Goathias. The Piedade Communidade was later sub-divided into two, Goltim and Navelim. According to legend, the original inhabitants of this island were people who once lived in Old Goa but had to desert during a disastrous pestilence that heavily decimated the population of Old Goa. ===Piedade (Goltim-Navelim)=== Spread at the bottom of a small forested hillock, Piedade, is a small typical Goan village. The Church of Our Lady of Compassion sits on top of this hillock overlooking the horizon. From the top of the hill, superb panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, including the meandering Mandovi river and Old Goa can be seen. Well maintained, elegant Portuguese villas can be seen dotting the island. The famous Bonderam festival is celebrated in Divar, on the fourth Saturday of August during the monsoon with great fanfare and attended by thousands of tourists and locals. In recent years, the inflow of non-Goans has changed the demographics, skyline and landscape of the village(s). ===Sao Matias=== Another typical Goan village, São Matias (now Malar) lies close to the island-village of Vanxim; which also part of the Malar Panchayat. The Konkan Railway passes through Malar, the nearest stop on the mainland is the train station at Carambolim. Ferry Connection from Narva to Narva-Bicholim, also Ferry Connection from the Island to Old Goa, and Ribander. The São Mathias Church was built by the Portuguese over 400 years ago. The St Mathias Sports Club is situated on the main road of the village. The locals here tend to have their own identity from the rest of the island. They celebrate Bonderam in the more traditional way with absolutely no floats. ==History== The original inhabitants of this island were people who once lived in Old Goa but had to leave during a disastrous plague that greatly reduced the population of Old Goa. The natives are mainly of Luso-Indian and Goan descent. It is believed that the Island of Divar was once a site of Hindu pilgrimage - one of many in India - and hosted the temples of Saptakoteshwar, Ganesh, Mahamaya and Dwarkeshwar. During the Christianization of Goa, in the 16th century, many were shifted, by the Goan Hindus, to other locations. It's also said, that the current Cemetery near Church at hilltop once housed a Ganesh Temple, though studies performed by ASI found no archeological evidence to this claim. The Hindus rehabilitated it in village of Candolá near Marcel. Shirali, a village near Bhatkal in Karnataka claims to house a parts of the Shree Ganesh Mahamaya temples of Navelim and Goltim. Rui Gomes Pereira in his book Goan Temples and Deities writes, "The original temple of Saptakoteshwar was constructed in the 12th century by the kings of Kadamba Dynasty. Saptakoteshwar was the patron deity of the Kadambas. The temple was destroyed by the Sultan of the Deccan in the middle of the 14th century. The Saptakoteshwar idol was then relocated to Naroa in Bicholim. Later, the temple was reconstructed at the same locality by Madhav Mantri of Vijaynagara at the close of the same century. However, it was then abandoned due to the diversion of pilgrims to the new temple, which now housed the idol. By the time the Portuguese found it, in 1515, the temple was a forgotten ruin in the wilderness." Prior to its destruction, the temple used to attract up to three thousand pilgrims from Goa itself during its annual procession. The present temple structure in Naroa has distinctive Indo-Portuguese architecture. According to Dr Olivinho J F Gomes, Professor of Konkani, Divar was one of the first places the Portuguese ventured to convert locals to Christianity. The Hindu Brahmin and Kshatriya castes readily converted, thus creating the Bamonn and Chardó communities. ==Festivities== ===Bonderam=== Similar to the Carnival, the famous Bonderam festival is celebrated in Divar on the fourth Saturday of August during the monsoon with great fanfare and attended by thousands of tourists and locals. Bonderam Festival: The festival is a memoir to the dispute and the fury of the Villagers over the Portuguese system of resolving the disputes. The villagers on the Divar Island often indulged in some kind of fight over the matter of ownership of their lands. To stop the disputes the Portuguese, put up flags at the boundaries. The villagers did not like this system. So they protested against the Portuguese by throwing stones at the flags. On this day a carnival ambiance is created. Each section of the village has a float at the parade. Melodious music could be heard throughout the village. The gaily coloured floats accompanied by colorfully dressed youngsters make a pretty picture. ===Potekar=== Similar to, Halloween, the Potekar festival is celebrated for three days before the start of Lent/ Ash Wednesday, where local youths wear homemade masks, costumes, cow bells; venturing around the village, receiving/demanding snacks & drinks from locals, and have licence to frighten the village children! ===Feast of Our Lord Redeemer=== The feast of the Miraculous Image of Our Lord Redeemer (Konkani: Jezu Soddvonnarachi Ojeapanchi Imaj) is celebrated every year at Piedade, Divar' in the month of November on a Sunday closest to 18 November. The traditional feast is celebrated by one of the village families and draws devotees from all over Goa. The image is said to have been brought by late Ferrão of Goltim, from Europe and was kept in his house which has today become the chapel. ==Churches== ====Church bell==== The huge bell which today adorns the Se Cathedral in Old Goa was originally donated by the master of a sinking ship who'd made a vow that, were he to survive his fate, he would donate the ship's bell to the first church village, town, or city his vessel touched. It so happened that that island was Divar. In keeping with his promise, he donated the bell to the church of Divar, which is located on a high hillock. Unfortunately though, every time the bell was struck, it shattered the windows of the church and the houses in the vicinity, so a deal was struck and the bell was exchanged with that of the Se Cathedral. ==Temples== Divar has a sizable number of temples, all of which are relatively new and constructed after the 1961 liberation of Goa by India. The oldest and most prominent of them is the Shri Ganesh Sateri Temple at Sateri Bhat, name after the immigrants from Satari sub-district. There are three other temples of Ganesh - one at Navelim, one at hilltop near the Church of Nossa Senhora de Piedade and third is at Maddar wado. ==Cuisine== ===Urak=== Divar is one of few places in Goa you will find Urak (mild version of Cashew Feni) all-year round. For a small island, Divar has a variety of bars, serving Urak & local food (esp. seafood). ==Notable people== Chefs (Culinary) • Chef Urbano Cruz do Rego Hailed as ‘the Godfather of Goan cuisine’, Chef Urbano Cruz do Rego also known as Chef Rego hails from Divar. He went to Mumbai to become a professional Footballer. However, after damaging his eardrum during practice Chef Rego turned to the culinary world to explore his talent. He has been dishing out Goan cuisine to the world for over 50 years and has served multiple world leaders throughout his career. File:Anibal_castro.jpg|Anibal Castro File:Jose_pacheco_-_Divar.jpg|Jose Pacheco File:Lucila_pacheco.jpg|Lucila Pacheco Anibal Castro, the legendary trombonist, who was also fluent with multiple instruments i.e. guitar, saxophone, flute, sitar etc., had been performing for over 50 years until he died on 3 November 2016 in Mumbai. His first musical breaks were in 1950s Bombay recording at the Bollywood studios of Shankar and Jaikaishen. He performed with musicians in India, Europe and the US playing classical, blues, jazz and big band music and accompanied Mohammed Rafi and his entourage during their US tour. Some of the great Indian Classical musicians like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Chourasia, Pandit Trilok Gurtu learnt western musical harmony from this great Musician of Divar. He performed at the famous Bombay Jazz Yatra of 1978 and at other western and Indian music fusion concerts with great Indian classical musicians such as Ustad Allarkha and Bhavani Shankar. He is a descendant of the same family as Dom. Matheus de Castro the first Indian Bishop of the Catholic Church. Jose Mathias Pacheco, was a bandleader at Madras Gymkanna Club. He migrated to Ceylon in the 1940s and worked as piano tuner in Colombo. returned to Madras and started a music business hiring pianos & other instruments ( tuning & repairing ) while playing double bass for the Madras Philharmonic Orchestra and various other bands. Retired to Goa in the 1970s (d. Feb 19, 1976). He owned more than 100 pianos during his lifetime. Lucila Pacheco, in the mid-1960s caused a sensation in the Bombay film studios for being the first female to play an electronic instrument. In the 1940s Lucilla Pacheco was one of the few women on the Bombay jazz scene, playing in the all-star band of Mickey Correa at the Taj Mahal Hotel and with the Anglo-Indian band leader Ken Mac. She later joined the Hindi film industry, and performed regularly with the arranger Anthony Gonsalves. ==See also== Goa Velha Goa Vanxim Chorão ==References== Goa Vol I - Hindu Temples & Deities by Rui Gomes Pereira. A. Gomes Pereira 1978.Gomes Pereira Rd, Panaji, Goa. SC: 240 pp. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235309/http://goacentral.com/Goatemples/bicholim.htm] Indian Prelates - a biographical sketch of 7 Goan Bishops by Jno. Godinho, Bombay, 1924

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